


Exploring the Edges of a Penumbra

by 0bsidianFire



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Identity Unreveal, Introspection, Irony, Missing Scene, The Burn, Weapon Maintenance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 09:30:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16323662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0bsidianFire/pseuds/0bsidianFire
Summary: Maxima studied the long two-handed gunblade resting across the Shadowhunter's back several paces ahead of him and had a nagging thought he should recognize who the Shadowhunter was.Missing scene from right after 4.3.





	Exploring the Edges of a Penumbra

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place right after 4.3. Spoilers for both 4.3 and 4.4.

As they walked away from the crash site, Maxima studied the long two-handed gunblade resting across the Shadowhunter's back several paces ahead of him. He had a nagging thought he should recognize who the Shadowhunter was. The man should have been too distinctive for him to go unnoticed by the Empire.

There was not many two-handed gunblade wielders in Garlemald, and even fewer in the standing military. It was an old art, one practiced more by history enthusiasts and stage fencers then true soldiers. Compared to a one-handed gunblade, it lacked flexibility of intent and options and required the wielder to know to not over-commit, but plan ahead to an absurd degree in a live combat situation. For most soldiers, it left them too open to use for all the extra power it could provide if used well. And the Shadowhunter had used it masterfully.

Maxima was sure he would have heard of someone in the Garlean Legions who was as good as the Shadowhunter was. And it was all too obvious the Shadowhunter had been in the Legions at one point. Had more than likely held rank even. He had known who the Emperor's Guard was immediately and had known without asking what rank Maxima was. Most telling was how he had carried himself on the battlefield. He had read the flow of battle in an instant and had known exactly where to place himself and his companions for maximum effect. It spoke of years of training and being in the thick of battle, all while using a fighting style almost no one ever bothered to learn.

It all added up to the Shadowhunter being a carrier legionnaire with a talent for field command and the patience to match. How such a talented individual had deserted the Legions and not had a man-hunt called for him yet troubled Maxima. Only slightly more discomforting was the thought that Maxima knew of no such individual that matched the Shadowhunter's talents on either side of the War of Succession. Whoever the Shadowhunter was, he had not been part of the Legions for a long time.

As the assault craft disappeared behind them, Maxima reminded himself that it really did not matter who the Shadowhunter could be. He was the reason they had survived and for now, that was enough for him.

* * *

The Shadowhunter let them rest once they got to a cluster of Allagan buildings Maxima was quite surprised to find in the Burn. Even more surprising was when Alphinaud said they were Allagan field generators and that he had seen such structures before in Azys Lla, the airborne Allagan research facility the VIth Legion was currently investigating.

What was not surprising was that all of them pulled out their weapons and did maintenance on them. The Shadowhunter's companions and Alphinaud's weapons did not need much; their weapons lacked the mechanical parts so common in Garlean weapons and needed nothing more then to have the sand of the Burn brushed off them. The Shadowhunter and Maxima's weapons needed more care. Maxima had the barrel of his gunblade opened and the chambers emptied before he thought to look at the Shadowhunter's weapon.

What he saw was nothing short of stunning. The Shadowhunter's gunblade's hilt casing was removed so the delicate magitek inside could be serviced. What Maxima could see of the magitek was like nothing he had seen on a gunblade before. Rather, it was like the magitek produced by the few artisans who dabbled in it; every gyro handmade, every gear and wire perfectly tuned to each other. The rest of the gunblade's hilt followed similar design principles. The metal tubing molded around the hilt was all smooth molded curves and the tubing itself was thinner than usual and there was more of it. The excess tubing led from the elaborate trigger guard to vials further up in the hilt. The blade itself was one solid sweep of metal with no visible seams. If Maxima hadn't seen the Shadowhunter use the gunblade in combat, he would have thought it belonged in a museum; the blade was work of magiteknical genius.

Hoping the Shadowhunter had not caught him almost drooling over the weapon, Maxima turned back to his own. It turned out sand and grit had gotten stuck in the trigger gears. Unfortunately, Maxima didn't have any of the specialized tools needed for magitek maintenance; those had been lost in the crash.

"Do you need these?" The Shadowhunter held out a collection of screwdrivers small enough to remove the screws in the casing around the trigger.

Maxima nodded and took the screwdrivers. As he did, he got a look at the Shadowhunter's gunblade and paused. With the hilt casing back on, it looked more like a normal gunblade.

"What?" The Shadowhunter demanded. He followed Maxima's gaze to his own weapon.

"I have never seen a gunblade like that," Maxima said honestly. He tried to shake the feeling that he was being questioned by a superior officer. 

"You would not have." The Shadowhunter's mouth twitched in what might have been a smile. "My friend knew something of magitek," he elaborated, "and decided he should try his hand at designing a gunblade at least once." He rubbed a polishing cloth over the blade and looked at the weapon with something close to a sad fondness. "I am most pleased with the result."

Maxima looked down at his standard issue gunblade and injected more lubricant into the gears before sweeping out the grit. The Shadowhunter's gunblade being a custom model put to rest any thought that the Shadowhunter had taken up the weapon style recently. That it had almost certainly been designed specifically for the Shadowhunter confirmed the feeling in Maxima's gut that the Shadowhunter had been someone important once. Maxima only hoped whoever the Shadowhunter had been wouldn't come back to bite them in the future. Their circumstances were bleak enough as they were.

**Author's Note:**

> Poor Maxima. He's probably the only person at the end of 4.3 with enough knowledge of how the Garlean Legions work (and a high enough security clearance) to realize there's nothing normal about Shadowhunter's skills, weapon or knowledge base. Too bad the person he's trying to remember probably hasn't been to the Garlean homeland in over a decade...


End file.
